Postcard #4: Lake Piso, Liberia

A nice gift from a lovely brother. Thank you Adeel Bhai for this nice postcard from Liberia. Its a view postcard with a very nice scenic view of Lake Piso in Liberia. Lake Piso is also known as Lake Pisu and Fisherman's Lake. It is a oblong tidallagoon in Grand Cape Mount County in Western Liberia. Located close to the town of Robertsport, it is the largest lake in Liberia with an area of 103 sq km. 

The name of the lake originates from a local term which means "Pigeon's Hole" - A reference to the flocks of pigeons that once came to Lake Piso to drink water.

The postcard will also help me to add to the Postcard Friendship Friday at another friend's blog.

Best Regards

2009 Native American Dollar - Won in a competition

Here is my prize. It is an uncirculated 2009 Native American Dollar (US Mint image included below). It looks amazingly beautiful.

Underneath are the scans of both sides of the coin as scanned by me. Thanks again to the site organizers. What do you say about this beautiful coin?

In fact I am still waiting for 25 more such coins as I was also one of their 5 GRAND PRIZE WINNERS. You can also keep your fingers crossed as I will be able to swap some of those duplicate coins with you people as and when I receive them.  Leave a comment here if you want one (subject to the fact that I receive them).

Best Regards

Cover from USA

Dear Friends!

Hello!

Today I found a US$1 coin sent by coinnetwork.com in my mail box. It was a prize won by me for being one of the first 50 members to join a contest on the site. Here is a wonderful cover sent by one of the moderators Michael Zielinski from USA.

The stamp used on the cover is one of the two landscape USA stamps. It features a scenic American landscape with a photograph of Trunk Bay on the northern coast of St. John, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands. St. John is known for its beautiful beaches, abundant plant life and the coral reefs along its coast. The island is also rich in history, and visitors to St. John can see pre-Columbian relics and the remains of Danish colonial sugar plantations. The photograph was taken by George H.H. Huey of Prescott, AZ. The set of both stamps can be seen as under:-

Some Cool Places To Visit During A Journey To Gilgit

A beautiful Buddha statue carved on the face of a rock at Karga Nullah near Gilgit. 

Its a unique place on the face of the Earth. At this point, three of the mightiest mountain ranges of the World meet, making a knot. These mountain ranges are Karakoram, Himalayas and the Hindukush ranges.

The place is well-defined with a plaque mentioning the place as:-

THE JUNCTION POINT OF THREE GREATEST MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD

It narrates, " FROM HERE YOU ARE SEEKING THREE MIGHTIEST MOUNTAIN RANGES OF THE WORLD. GREAT HIMALAYAS END IN THE SOUTH AND EAST OF INDUS RIVER. KARAKORUMS ARE ENDING IN THE NORTHEAST OF GILGIT RIVER. KARAKORUMS ARE ENDING IN THE NORTH EAST OF GILGIT RIVER. WEST OF GILGIT / INDUS RIVER IS THE HINDU KUSH RANGE".

The photo below shows the Rupal Face of the Nineth highest mountain peak of the World - Nanga Parbat. Nanga Parbat is commonly known as "The Killer Mountain". The height of Nanga Parbat is 8126 meters or 26660 feet and is the 9th highest peak of the World and the 2nd highest peak of Pakistan after K-2.

Nanga Parbat was one of the deadliest of the Eight-Thousanders for climbers in the first half of the 20th century; since that time it has been less so, though still an extremely dangerous and serious climb. It is also an immense, dramatic peak that rises far above its surrounding terrain.

A nice view of a medium-sized town Besham on the way back to Rawalpindi.

Some snowy pictures of Kaghan Valley

Just a few more pictures of the Kaghan Valley during my cool heli ride. Enjoy!!! Aren't they cool???

A Helicopter Joy ride to Naran Valley

A broken river between Gilgit and Danyore- A town across Indus river near Gilgit. The bridge on KKH is broken for the last 7-8 months. I don't know for how long it will remain as such. It is a huge inconvenience to the travelers as they have to cross the river from another bridge after traveling a long distance cross country.

An aerial view of Karakoram Highway. A treat to watch from above.

Deep-Green River Indus and a cool suspension bridge - What else can you wish to give a treat to your eyes??? 

A great view of the snow-coated Babusar Pass - A mountainous pass connecting Kaghan or Naran Valley to Indus Valley. The height of Babusar pass is 13,691 feet above mean sea level.

A snow-quilted view of Kaghan Valley near Lulusar Lake. The lake can not be seen at this time of the year as it is completely frozen.

Some more interesting pictures

Another old but nice-looking suspension bridge on River Indus.

Here are some pictures of "Sulphur Springs" - a beautiful diversity of nature. These springs are located at about two hours drive from Gilgit to Rawalpindi. Due to the presence of Sulphur underground, the water of the springs is hotter than the boiling water. Absolutely hard to touch even!!!

Another wonderful view of KKH. Isn't this road leading to heaven? Beautiful snow-covered mountains in the background can give you a feeling of the altitude at which this highway is built.

Some amazing pictures on the way to Gilgit

Have you ever seen a river so green. It is the mighty "River Indus" with water coming straight from the melting glaciers and mountain peaks. It is really a beautiful view. Also check the Karakoram Highway running along the river.

A nice suspension bridge on river Indus.

A beautiful road with a magnificent Indus River.

A bus crossing the land slide. Check a huge bus crossing over the muddy landslide to keep itself on route to its destination. A steep cliff on one side and a sheer fall on the other, but fortune favors the brave only.

What a long line of traveling vehicles struck in the middle of nowhere because of the anger of nature - A landslide.

This is the view of the blocked road due to a land slide. You can see the difficulties faced by the drivers traveling on the road and above all by the engineers trying to keep it open 365 days a year.

A Brief Account Of My Recent Journey To Gilgit

My dear friends!

Hello!

I hope and pray that you all are fine and happy.

I happened to visit Gilgit which is the Capital of "Northern Areas" of Pakistan due to some professional commitment. The highlight of the trip included the journey from Rawalpindi to Gilgit and back on the world-famous "Karakoram Highway (KKH)", a beautiful view of Nanga Parbat - 9th highest peak in the World, a trip to Kargah Nullah, a Helicopter ride to snow-covered Naran Valley, a on-the-route stop at "Sulphur Springs" and a memorable hospitality by my hosts in Gilgit.

Karakoram Highway or Friendship Highway was built during 1966-1986 and is the highest paved international roar in the World. It connects China and Pakistan across the Karakoram Highway at an unbelievable altitude of 4,693 meters or 15,397 feet above mean sea level. Most of the countries in the world DO NOT even have a peak at that altitude. According to Wikipedia "Due to its high elevation and the difficult conditions in which it was constructed, it is also referred to as the 'Ninth Wonder of the World'".

Total Length of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) is 1300 kms (806 kms in Pakistan and 494 kms in China). The road mainly travels along the side of Indus River.

Its construction took the toll of 810 Pakistani and 82 Chinese workers mainly due to land slides, falls and extremely harsh weather conditions during its construction.

I would love to share some nice pictures with all of you here. The first one is a town-view of a medium-sized town Dassu on the KKH with a beautiful bridge on the Indus River. 

The second picture is a view of the KKH. You can see the harsh and difficult terrain on which it is built.

Back On The Scene

Hi Pals!

I hope and pray that all of you are fine, happy and in high spirits.

I have been roaming around for a while now in connection with my professional commitments. 

Hopefully I am back on the scene of stamp collecting for a while now. I started a few swaps before my departure which are still under process. I would like to finish them as soon as possible. I have already sent many packets to friends but some are still in my court. I handed over some packets to a friend before my departure for posting as registered packets but he is also out of contact being at a place with no telephonic contact. I will make my last try to contact him and if I fail to do so then I will prepare new packets with stamps, cards (or whatever was promised) for all of you and will confirm their posting by tomorrow evening. I will publish a list of stamp collector friends tomorrow night whom I will send packets in the day. I am planning to complete all stamp, post cards, covers, etc swaps by tomorrow. At least those swaps against which I have already received stamps, post cards, covers, etc. I will confirm sending packets to Nicole Schmitt, Bellini Ezio, Johnny, Josephine Smith, Tomislav Dolar, Kristiina, Contesse Eric, Michael Chapeau, Carolina Chia, Milos Leng, Glenn Moores, and a couple of other friends from postcrossing.com. 

I have tried to jot down all the swap friends from whom I have already received collectibles except a couple of them whom I promised to send first. 

I am extremely sorry for the delay in completion of these swaps and I promise to send a couple of extra items to all friends whom I will be sending packets. I hope that you will like these collectible items.

You can send me a note on faisalcheema44@gmail.com

Best Regards

Yours Cheema

FDC #3: France: Munich Olympics 1972

Hello Pals!
I am here after a little absence. I have to show you a beautiful cover from my Olympics collection. It is an official FDC from France marking the event of Munich Olympics 1972 held of course in Munich (Then West Germany).

Unfortunately, the event saw a massacre on September 5 by some members belonging to the Black September Organization who broke into the Olympics village and took 11 Israeli athletes hostage in their apartment. They killed two of the athletes in their apartment after fighting back.

Afterwards during a botched German rescue attempt at the military airport of Furstenfeldbruck, where the captors with their hostages had been transferred by helicopter, ostensibly to board a plane bound for another country, all the surviving Israeli hostages were killed by a terrorist who threw a grenade into the helicopter carrying the hostages in one helicopter and another terrorist who sprayed the second helicopter with machine gun fire.

The games were suspended for some time but the Olympics committee decided that "the Games must go on". Competition resumed a day later.

The 1972 Munich Olympics were officially named as Games of the XX Olympiad. The official motto of the games was "The Happy Games". The emblem of the Games was a blue solar logo (the "Bright Sun"). The Olympic mascot, the dachsund "Waldi", was the first officially-named Olympic mascot.

France finished in 17th position in the final medal rankings, with two gold medals(Cycling, Men's 1000m Sprint and Sailing, Men's Finn) and 13 medals overall. Pakistan also competed in the event and managed to win a silver medal in Men's Field Hockey Team Competition.

I think that this particular cover was issued during the torch relay of Olympics. Can anyone put me wise on this issue? The FDC was sent to me by M. Chapeau Jean-Michel from France. Thanks Michel for such a nice cover.

FDC#2 from Pakistan: Centenary Celebration of Catholic Cathedral Church; Lahore; Pakistan in 2007

Today I am here to share with you a wonderful FDC featuring a very nice and historical stamp issued on the occasion of the Centenary Celebration of Catholic Cathedral Church in Lahore, Pakistan. The Catholic Cathedral Church in Lahore has a rich history to offer. This magnificent edifice was constructed by the Belgian Capuchins in a prominent place in the heart of the city and consecrated on 19^th November 1907 as the mother Church of the diocese of Lahore. It replaced the historic old Pro-Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception built in 1861 near the famous Anarkali bazaar, outside the Old City.

The stamp was of Rs 5 denomination and was issued on 19th November 2007. I have a couple of such covers available for swap if anyone is interested. I can swap it for FDCs depicting themes like Olympics, Football, etc.

Pakistan Stamps featuring Aquarium Fishes issued on Universal Postal Union Day 2004

Hi!
Here I have for you one of the most beautiful stamp sheet from Pakistan.

The sheet was issued on the eve of National Philatelic Exhibition Lahore 2004 which was held on Universal Postal Day 2004. The set of Aquarium Fishes consists of 5 different types of fishes. These include the following:-

• Yellow Dwarf Cichlid
• Striped Gourami
• Tiger Barb
• Neon Tetra
• Black Widow

Aren't they beautiful?
The stamps in the sheet are also staggered in each row. You are welcome to post your comments about this beautiful piece of philatelic art.
Best Regards

Postcard #3: Another view of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Here is another view of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
This post card is from Saudi Arabia and basically it features the dome and minaret of Al-Masa'a. It is the third postcard with the same masjid in fact.
After this I will be uploading other postcards as well.
Love

Pakistan Stamps with Aircrafts - A tribute to Pakistan Air Force (PAF)

Hi Pals!
Here I have for you another nice stamp sheet with 10 nice stamps issued to commemorate the Pakistan Air Force Day on September 7, 1987. Each stamp is of PKR 3/- denomination.

To share the PAF's pride in its rich heritage of courage, sacrifice and professional excellence as well as to honour those daring pilots who wrote a glorious chapter in our history with their blood, Pakistan Post Office issued this nice set of 10 commemorative postage stamps, each depicting a different PAF aircraft, on the occasion of the 1987 Air Force Day.

The scenes depicted on the stamps are from a series of specially commissioned aviation paintings done by Squadron Leader Masood A Hussaini, the officially appointed aviation artist of the Pakistan Air Force. The set of 10 stamps, each bearing the impression of a combat, transport or training aircraft, shows how the PAF grew from its modest beginnings 40 years ago, to its present hard-hitting posture. Manned by highly professional men, the PAF stands ready today to rise swiftly to deter and defeat aggression against Pakistan.

Seventh September occupies a place of prominence on the PAF calendar. Popularly known as the Air Force Day, it evokes memories of heroism and gallant displayed by the nation's air arm during September '65 India-Pakistan war.

It was on this day, 22 years ago, that a small band of daring PAF pilots supported by an equally dedicated group of officers and men on the ground rose to the very heights of professionalism and, although outnumbered and outmatched in equipment, blunted the aggressor's air power. As a mark of respect for the glorious acts of valour performed by these brave sons of the soil (a number of whom achieved "shahadat" during that war), the Pakistan Air Force observes 7th September as the Air Force Day.

The occasion is celebrated all over the country with great patriotic fervour and public enthusiasm. The day starts with prayers of thanks giving and "Quran Khwani" for the "Shuhada" at the PAF mosques. This is followed by special Air Force Day parades at all PAF Bases to mark the occasion. In an impressive ceremony in the city of Karachi, Flight Cadets from PAF Academy, Risalpur, which had the proud distinction of being the only military Academy ever visited by the Quaid-e-Azam, mount Guard at the Quaid\'s mausoleum to pay homage to the Father of the Nation.

The Air Bases are then thrown open to general public to afford them an yearly opportunity to see their Air Force from close quarters and to gain first hand knowledge about some of its equipment and weapons. The elaborate equipment arrays and flying displays held on the occasion draw countless Pakistanis of all ages and from different walks of life to these air bases throughout the day. All types of aircraft held on the PAF inventory can be seen performing thrilling aerial maneuvers over the PAF airfields throughout the day, to the great enjoyment of all visitors, specially young students of schools and colleges. As evening approaches, the gates of the air bases close till the next year behind the departing citizens, when they would be welcomed again by their hosts in blue.

Isn't it a wonderful piece of work???

Postcards #2: Holy Kaa'ba in Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Here is another postcard from my collection. I have kept this post card since I was a child. This piece of collection was sent to my father by one of his friends Mr Shahid Naseem more than 20 years ago. The card was sent as a greeting card on the Eid day.

It is a 3-D sort of a card. I do not know exactly what such cards are called and I would appreciate if some of you can help me. Basically the card shows TWO different views of Holy Kaa'ba - A closed photo and a distant one. Both can be viewed by slightly moving or tilting the postcard's front side. (It was difficult to scan both images separately but one can clearly make out both the photos from the uploaded image). While a distant image is clearer in the picture, a closer look of the Kaa'ba's building can be observed towards left side of the postcard.

Although the card features the photos of Holy Kaa'ba which is located in Saudi Arabia, interestingly the postcard is "Made in Japan". On the back of the postcard, it states "Wonder Co., Tokyo, Made in Japan". I would also be grateful for some friends who can clear whether this postcard should be counted in postcard collection from Saudi Arabia or from Japan. Its manufactured in Japan but posted from Saudi Arabia.

I can also send a postcard from Afghanistan(Made in Afghanistan with landscapes or pictures of Afghanistan) to interested collectors with Pakistani Stamps for swap. Anyone interested?

Best Regards

Postcard #1: Al-Masjid Al-Haram (Holy Mosque), Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Hello and Assalam-o-Alaikum!
Here is my first post card for the blog.
I chose this nice piece from my little postcard collection as my first here. The postcard features the World's largest mosque and the holiest place for the Muslim World. It is also the prime destination of the Hajj pilgrimage.

The mosque complex covers an area of 356,800 square meters and can accommodate up to 820,000 worshipers during the Hajj.

The Haram was built in the 7th century and has been modified, rebuilt, and expanded on a regular basis ever since. Major expansions took place in the 1980s and further work is going on today.

The mosque is built around Holy Kaa'ba or qibla which is considered to be the home of Allah (Almighty God) on Earth. So all Muslims around the globe say their prayers facing towards Holy Kaa'ba. The Holy Mosque is the only mosque that has no qibla direction, since Muslims pray facing the Kaa'ba in the central courtyard. I mean to say that the direction like West, East or North are not specified like in any other mosque but the worshippers face the qibla for their prayers.

I planned to start posting post cards a little later but I am posting my first postcardon the request of a fellow collector Marie who is organizing an event on her blog by the name of 'Postcard Friendship Friday'. So today on Friday, 30th of January 2009, I post this postcard as my first on the blog.

I hope that all of you will like it.
Best Regards

FDC#1 from Pakistan: SAF Games Islamabad 2004

My Dear Friends!
Hello again!
I have been missing my blog for a while now. Finally I have got a scanner and I am good to go with my posts. So here is the first FDC to show you from my collection. It is one of my favorite ones.

The FDC was issued on the event of 9th SAF Games held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 29 Mar to 7 Apr 2004. For those of you who do not know the details, SAF Games stand for South Asian Federation Games. The countries included in SAARC (South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation) participate in these games. There are in fact 7 members of the organization including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan. In April 2007, Afghanistan also joined the organization as the 8th member.

The stamp sheet issued on the occasion contained 16 stamps of value PKR2 each. On the stamps the players are featured in different sporting styles while on the border of the sheet, a bear named Baloo which was the mascot of the event is featured with the SAF Games Torch. Baloo can also be seen on each stamp in the background in different sporting postures.

I also attended the opening and the closing ceremonies held in the Jinnah Stadium Islamabad and it was some real great time. Especially the fire works performed by a teamof specialists from China was brilliant.

I am missing my BLOG

My Dear Friends!
Hello!
I hope and pray that all of you are fine and happy.
Sorry for a slight delay in uploading new posts to my blog. I shall soon be doing it. Thanks a lot for praying for my father as well. By the grace of Almighty Allah, he is quite well now.
Best Regards

Please pray for my dad!!!

My dear friends!
Hello!
I hope and pray that you all are fine and happy.
I have been away from my blog for quite sometime now.
My dad had a heart attack about ten days back, so I was at home with my family. He remained admitted in the hospital for some days before undergoing angiography followed by an angioplasty procedure.
By the grace of God, everything is fine now.
I would request all my collector friends to please pray for his health and happiness.
May God bless you all and we can continue swapping everything from stamps, phonecards, FDCs, coins to any item imaginable.
If you need any collectible from Pakistan, please feel free to contact me on faisalcheema44@gmail.com
Best Regards